Why the Irish Lottery is Worth Trying Out
Entering the lottery is a popular activity for people around the world and there are many games to choose from, from small local and postcode-based lotteries to national and international lotteries.
The Irish Lottery can be entered by both Irish residents and those living in other countries, such as England or Wales, as the Irish Lottery results can be checked quickly and easily online.
Whether you are a lotto player that enters regularly and are looking for a new game, or someone new to the lottery considering entering for the very first time, there are lots of reasons to consider participating in the Irish Lottery.
We take a look at the history of the Irish Lottery and how it works, consider the benefits of participating and the experience a lottery player has as they place their bets.
The history of the Irish lottery
The lottery is a popular form of betting in the country of Ireland, with the first Irish Lotto draw taking place on Saturday 16th April in 1988.
There was then one draw a week until May 1990, when a midweek draw was added. This draw takes place every Wednesday.
When the Irish Lotto was first launched, players had to select six numbers from a choice of 36, however this changed in August 1992 and a bonus ball was added to create more prize tiers.
Two years after this, more balls were added to the selection and then by 2006 this figure increased again, giving players 45 numbers to choose from. There are now 47 different numbers in the draw.
One reason for adding the bonus ball and additional numbers was to prevent such schemes as the one that took place in 1992.
A group in a Dublin based syndicate attempted to win by buying tickets to cover all of the different number combinations in order to guarantee winning the jackpot prize. They succeeded and took home approximately €1.16 million.
There have been many big wins over the years with the biggest being in January 2022 when one individual in County Mayo took home €19 million.
Before that the biggest winner was located in County Carlow and won €18.9 million in 2008.
Also in 2010, there were two winners of prizes of more than €16 million each, one in Dublin and one in County Waterford. And before that, in 2007, one player from County Cork won €16.1 million.
How the Irish lottery works – steps to entering
The Irish Lottery works in a similar way to many other lotteries. Each line costs €2 euro to play and you need to play at least two lines.
For each line, you choose a set of six numbers between one and 47. You can play the same numbers more than once if you want to.
Next, you can decide how many draws you want to enter into. You have the option to buy tickets for the next two, four or even eight draws in advance.
It is important to remember to enter in time as sales close before the draw.
Finally, following the draw you can check your results immediately online.
Why play the Irish Lottery?
One of the biggest reasons that the Irish Lottery is particularly appealing to so many players is that it has favourable odds compared to many other lotteries.
The odds for the Irish Lottery are around 1 in 10.7 million for the jackpot prize, which is far better than others like the EuroMillions. The odds of winning any amount of money are 1 in 29.
To win the jackpot, you must match all six numbers and to win any cash prize you will need to match at least three numbers.
The minimum jackpot starts at €2 million and it is now capped at €18.9 million. Winnings are tax free for players and the money usually reaches your account within a few days, subject to terms and conditions.
Playing the Irish lottery is convenient given that you can do it online from your smartphone. Being able to check the numbers online is great too!
By playing online you also remove the risk of losing your physical ticket or it becoming damaged, meaning you might not have been able to make a successful claim even if your numbers matched.
Both individual lottery players and those that are part of a lottery syndicate have won big with the Irish lottery. The stories of big jackpot windfalls show what players could be in for a chance of winning.
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